Spectral Indicators for Assessing the Effect of Hydrocarbon Leakage on Vegetation
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Spectral indicators for assessing the effect of hydrocarbon leakage on vegetation Batkhuyag Oyundari March, 2008 i Spectral indicators for assessing the effect of hydrocarbon leakage on vegetation by Batkhuyag Oyundari Thesis submitted to the International Institute for Geo-information Science and Earth Observation in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Geo-information Science and Earth Observation, Specialisation: (Environmental Systems Analysis and Management) Thesis Assessment Board Chairman: Prof. Dr. Andrew Skidmore, ITC External Examiner: Dr. A. Clevers, Wageningen University Internal Examiner : Dr. Michael Weir, ITC Primary supervisor : Dr. Harald van der Werff, ITC INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR GEO-INFORMATION SCIENCE AND EARTH OBSERVATION ENSCHEDE, THE NETHERLANDS ii iii This work is dedicated to my parents In love and gratitude iv Disclaimer This document describes work undertaken as part of a programme of study at the International Institute for Geo-information Science and Earth Observation. All views and opinions expressed therein remain the sole responsibility of the author, and do not necessarily represent those of the institute. v Abstract Detection of leaking pipelines is essential for safety, economic and environmental reasons. Hyperspectral remote sensing has proven to be a tool that offers a non-destructive investigative method to detect the leaks through identifying anomalous features in spectra of vegetation growing above. The study aimed to assess the ability of reflectance spectroscopy to detect a spectrally specific response in vegetation induced by a particular benzene hydrocarbon. Field spectroscopy and relative chlorophyll measurements of plant leaves were analyzed to determine the effect of benzene pollution on the overlying vegetation and to find spectral indicators specific for benzene pollution using various vegetation indices and reflectance differences between fields with different levels of pollution. The simulation of canopy reflectance was carried out to analyze vegetation indices/ratios for sensitivity to chlorophyll concentration using radiative transfer models. From various red edge and chlorophyll indices derived from a high spectral resolution instrument, modified red edge simple ratio index (mSR705) and optimal narrow band ratio vegetation index (RVI) were shown to be accurate in estimating leaf-level chlorophyll content or plant stress for two species, grass and maize, respectively. The new developed Ratio1 as the division of ratio R640/R470 by ratio R770/R725 (note these ratios were derived from reflectance differences and sensitivities) was defined as the best predictor of benzene pollution. Although the results suggest that the Ratio1 and mSR705 can be used for detection of benzene leakage or plant health status, ancillary information such as pipeline maps would be required to distinguish spectral responses induced by benzene from those due to other stresses. vi Acknowledgements First of all, I gratefully acknowledge the financial support and funding provided by the Netherlands government, without that this work could have not been possible. I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to all ITC lecturers and staffs, who supported me with their valuable knowledge and academic advises. Enormous thanks go to Dr.Harald van der Werff, my first supervisor, and Prof. Mark van der Meijde who helped me with the development of the research by excellent guidance and moral support. Many thanks go to Prof Andrew Skidmore, my second supervisor, and Prof. Freek van der Meer who provided constructive criticism and insightful comments during this research work. I'm very grateful to Dr. Martin Schlerf for his kind programming assistance and developing my knowledge in the area of vegetation remote sensing, for his valuable comments and advices. My sincere gratitude goes to Dr. Michael Weir for providing excellent study environment and being kind and supportive throughout the study period. It was pleasant to see all that involvement, which made the research work much better than it would be otherwise. I would like to thank my friends from my country, Orgil, Aagii, Munguu, Tuul, Bayaraa and my classmates, Graciela, Tajinder, Elias, Eugene, Richard, Wilber and all other people, who have been in my life ever since we started the study in ITC sharing the knowledge and helping me. Special regards to Paula, Nata for your enduring friendship. I hope that we will be able to stay in touch despite the large distances between us. My heartfelt appreciation goes to my family, my loving husband and daughter, and my friends in Mongolia, encouraging and supporting me throughout the entire period of study. vii Table of contents 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 15 1.1. Background .......................................................................................................................... 15 1.1.1. Effect of hydrocarbon on the environment...................................................................... 15 1.1.2. Spectral characteristics of stressed plants ....................................................................... 16 1.2. Research Problem and justification ..................................................................................... 17 1.3. Research objective ............................................................................................................... 18 1.4. Research questions............................................................................................................... 19 1.5. Research hypothesis............................................................................................................. 19 2. Methods and materials .................................................................................................................. 20 2.1. Introduction.......................................................................................................................... 20 2.2. Study area............................................................................................................................. 20 2.3. Data collection ..................................................................................................................... 21 2.3.1. Acquisition of Airborne Image Data (Hymap)................................................................ 21 2.3.2. Secondary data................................................................................................................. 22 2.3.3. Field data collection ........................................................................................................ 22 2.4. Pre-processing...................................................................................................................... 24 2.4.1. Image data........................................................................................................................ 24 2.4.2. Field data ......................................................................................................................... 25 2.5. Data analysis ........................................................................................................................ 26 2.5.1. Correlation of spectral indices with chlorophyll content ................................................ 26 2.5.2. Correlation of hyperspectral indices with chlorophyll content ....................................... 29 2.5.3. Derivation of bands sensitive to benzene pollution......................................................... 30 2.5.4. Sensitivity of indices to low chlorophyll content............................................................ 31 2.6. Validation and estimation of the plant health state and pollution ....................................... 34 3. Results ........................................................................................................................................... 35 3.1. Correlation of spectral indices with chlorophyll content..................................................... 35 3.1.1. Chlorophyll and reflectance measurements..................................................................... 35 3.1.2. Relationship of indices with chlorophyll content............................................................ 35 3.1.3. Predicting the chlorophyll content using spectral indices............................................... 36 3.1.4. Covariance analysis model .............................................................................................. 39 3.2. Correlation of hyperspectral indices with chlorophyll content .......................................... 40 3.2.1. Hyperspectral indices (NDVI and RVI) .......................................................................... 40 3.2.2. Predicting the chlorophyll content using hyperspectral indices...................................... 42 3.3. Derivation of band ratios ..................................................................................................... 43 3.3.1. Reflectance difference and sensitivity............................................................................. 43 3.3.2. Analysis of variance ........................................................................................................ 44 3.3.3. Relationship of the ratios/indices with benzene concentration ....................................... 46 3.3.4. Predicting the hydrocarbon